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Conservative and progressive court watchers have described him as pro-business.

Colloton is on a
short list of 21 possible high court nominees to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice
Antonin Scalia, who died last year. President-elect Donald Trump has committed to
choosing someone from this list.

Trump has narrowed the field to around a half-dozen finalists, which includes Colloton,
a Jan. 3 Politico
story reports.

1) ACA, Reproductive Health

Colloton joined two Eighth Circuit rulings that may raise concerns among Democrats
about his positions on reproductive health.

2) Tyson Foods, $24 Million Reversal

Two Colloton opinions in favor of Tyson Foods Inc. are a prime example of how a more
conservative court could make it harder for workers to bring wage claims against employers,
Alliance for Justice, a progressive organization,
said in November.

Also citing the Tyson opinions, the conservative-leaning Daily Caller website
said Colloton “has a record generally friendly to business.”

In separate class actions, a district court found that Tyson failed to adequately
compensate meatpacking plant employees for time spent donning and doffing protective
equipment, under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Nebraska Wage Payment and Collection
Act.

Colloton’s opinions for the Eighth Circuit dismissed the FLSA claims, based on the
plaintiffs’ failure to file collective action consent forms required by the law.

The Eighth Circuit also dismissed the state law claims, finding that the plaintiffs
failed to show that Tyson agreed to pay them more for their pre- and post-shift time
than they were already receiving.

3) First Amendment Record

Colloton joined a decision that ruled against the Westboro Baptist Church’s challenge
to restrictions on funeral protesting, in
Phelps-Roper v. City of Manchester, 697 F.3d 678 (8th Cir.
2012) (en banc).

The church is known for picketing the funerals of fallen soldiers and holding signs
with inflammatory messages such as “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”

The Eighth Circuit found that a city ordinance barring protests within 300 feet of
funeral sites didn’t violate church members’ rights to express their religious beliefs
and to protest under the First Amendment.

The city had a significant interest in protecting mourners’ privacy interests, the
court found.

Mourners “attending a funeral or burial share a privacy interest analogous to those
which the Supreme Court has recognized for individuals in their homes,” the court
said.

In another dispute involving religious speech, an opinion by Colloton ruled in favor
of an evangelical Christian who was prevented from distributing Bibles at a gay pride
festival, in
Johnson v. Minneapolis Park &
Recreation Bd.
, 729 F.3d 1094 (8th Cir.
2013).

A regulation restricting literature distribution at a local park during the festival
wasn’t narrowly tailored to serve the government’s interest in controlling crowds,
Colloton wrote for the court.

The regulation was also underinclusive because it allowed street performers to perform
in the park, which was more likely to create crowds than distributing literature,
the court found.

4) Familiar Resume

Colloton’s resume is notably similar to those of current high court justices.

He clerked for former Chief Justice William Rehnquist, as did current Chief Justice
John G. Roberts Jr.

Colloton was also editor of the Yale Law Journal, a position held by Justices Samuel
A. Alito Jr. and Sonia Sotomayor.

And Colloton received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, as did Sotomayor
and Justice Elena Kagan.

Trump’s short-list includes several individuals that would bring diversity to the
court in terms of schools attended and experience.

5) Starr Service

After clerking for Rehnquist, Colloton worked for another hero to conservatives—Kenneth
Starr.

He worked under Starr during the Whitewater investigation of former President Bill
Clinton and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton involving real estate
transactions in Arkansas.

Colloton worked on the Whitewater-related prosecution of former Arkansas Gov. Jim
Guy Tucker (D) and Bill Clinton’s former business partners Jim and Susan McDougal,
all of whom were
convicted of fraud in 1996.

Colloton gained the respect of Tucker’s attorney, George Collins, who endorsed him
in a
letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Collins said he believed Colloton would “call them as he sees them” and that conservative
litigants wouldn’t “have any better chance before him than any other litigant.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick L. Gregory in Washington at
pgregory@bna.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jessie Kokrda Kamens at
jkamens@bna.com

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